1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing device for receiving data from a data source apparatus via a communication interface in which one of two connected communication apparatuses is a communication master and the other is a communication slave, the communication master being able to connect to a plurality of communication slaves but the communication slave being able to connect to only one communication master.
2. Description of the Related Art
This type of printing device includes devices which execute printing upon reception of print data from an external device via a communication interface which adheres to Bluetooth (trademark) specifications, for example (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application 2002-367280, for example).
In the prior art described above, printing is executed upon reception of a printing request from the external device, and hence the external device becomes the communication master and the printing device becomes a communication slave. According to Bluetooth specifications, a communication slave may only be connected to a single communication master. Hence even when a plurality of devices capable of outputting print data are present, if the printing device is connected to a certain external device, it cannot be connected to the other external devices to receive print data therefrom. This results in a deterioration in throughput.
This problem is not limited to communication interfaces which adhere to Bluetooth specifications, and may occur when print data are received from a data source apparatus via another communication interface in which one of two connected communication apparatuses is a communication master and the other is a communication slave, the communication master being able to connect to a plurality of communication slaves but the communication slave being able to connect to only one communication master.